UCLA receiving corps not short on swagger

LOS ANGELES – They emerged Thursday from the icy cold tubs at Spaulding Field like they do after every practice – with all the flash of a Hollywood entourage. Just a few feet away rap mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs took in the scene, an hour after rolling up to UCLA’s practice with his own crew in a Maybach luxury car. It’s exactly the way UCLA’s receivers expected this season to start: the glitz, the glamour, and all eyes on them. Every practice is another premiere.

“We’re swagged out,” says sophomore Devin Lucien, the first of the group to emerge. “That’s all that is. It’s swag, I can’t really explain it. That’s just how we are. I don’t want to say we’re flashy because we don’t try to be, but it’s just how we carry ourselves.”

Lucien had all of 10 catches last season after missing time because of a collarbone injury. But no receiver on UCLA’s roster is more comfortable being the center of the entourage.

During spring practice, after each of his routine acrobatic catches in the end zone, Lucien showboated and let nearby reporters know he was coming for fellow wideout Jordan Payton’s starting spot. Lucien is as “Hollywood” as players get in Westwood.

But the spotlight-hogging demeanor that he’s made a name for has taken a step back this fall, even as the hype continues to grow about UCLA’s receiving corps. Coach Jim Mora says Lucien is “growing up.” Lucien calls it “finding his tunnel vision.”

“Maybe thinking about (taking Payton’s starting spot) was probably why I was inconsistent,” Lucien said. “All I wanted to do was get the ball in my hand and score a touchdown. Now, it’s like, ‘Why?’ I’m going to play as much as the other receivers, regardless of if I start or not, so why trip about who goes in first?”

Payton retained his starting spot this fall by being nearly the opposite. He’s as quietly consistent as they come.

In a group known for its flash, Payton says he’s “the old soul”, the laid-back one. But when asked what’s changed most in his game since his freshman year, like with his fellow wideouts, the answer is obvious: It’s all about confidence.

“As a freshman, you’re so lost in everything that you do,” said Payton, who had 18 catches for 201 yards and a touchdown last year. “You’re always constantly learning, but you’ve got a foundation now. I can lean on that foundation all the time, and the confidence is flowing.”

Evans and Lucien, who’ve been inseparable since camp started, prefer to call it “swag,” and as the swag leaders of UCLA’s receivers, they’ve got a standard they’ve had to uphold this camp with the wideouts outside of their flashy entourage.

“When he first came out, (freshman) Eldridge (Massington) came out in knee braces and a big jersey, and I was like, ‘Man, you’ve got to stop dressing like that,’” said senior receiver Shaq Evans, who led the team in yards and receptions last year. “This receiving corps, we swag. We’ve got confidence, and you’ve got to look the part. You look good, you play good.”

So far, with the season a little more than a week away, the Bruins’ wideouts look night-and-day different from where they were last season, young and inconsistent.

“We feel like we’re definitely the best receiving corps in the Pac-12 and aspiring to be the best in the nation,” Evans said. “I feel like we have the talent, we have the potential – as long as we go out there and do what we’ve been doing, a month into the season, they’ll be talking about these receivers.”

Trust us, they already are.

BARR UPDATE

While Combs’ presence was notable, it was another sighting at Thursday’s practice that caused some intrigue.

Preseason All-American linebacker Anthony Barr, who missed Wednesday’s practice after suffering concussion-like symptoms on a head-to-head collision the night before, was in attendance. Unfortunately for UCLA, Barr was still in street clothes.

Mora didn't disclose any specifics about Barr's injury when asked again. On Wednesday, Mora noted only that he was “fine,” “super” and “doing great” after he missed the team's first day of preparation for next Saturday's matchup with Nevada.